St Francis College pupils did their bit to feed the hundreds of firefighters who were battling to extinguish the ongoing fires in Cape St Francis and surrounding areas.

The fires, which started in January 2016, ravaged huge sections of coastal veld, jumping from area to area, including onto Eskom’s nature reserve. At one point, the fire burned on the R330. The road was closed and traffic diverted. Residents were prepared to be evacuated, but this did not become necessary.

Firefighters from the Kouga and Sarah Baartman district municipalities, assisted by other volunteer groups, did all they could, even using a helicopter to transport water from the swimming pools of houses to help bring the fire under control.

Grades 5, 6, and 7 St Francis College pupils made about 32 loaves worth of peanut butter and jam sandwiches for the hungry and exhausted firefighting heroes.

Says college head Franzl Bause: “As a school, I was pleased to see that we could contribute by making sandwiches for the firefighters, but more importantly, during assemblies and private devotions, we prayed. If one thinks of what could have happened, I think that we would all agree that a divine hand was present throughout this ordeal.”